European Union vote 2016

Shawshank

jnimhaoileoin said:

It must be quite frustrating for British people here to read the comments of people from other countries (mostly America) saying how great this is for democracy etc. Not so great for those who will now have to face the consequences, starting with an inevitable recession.

I must admit that in my head I found myself kind of hoping they'd vote to leave but this was in complete ignorance of any of the facts or potential consequences. It was simply born out of a distrust of central European control and also a notion that this could be an alternative route to Scottish independence. I also felt safe in having these thoughts, thinking 'sure it doesn't matter, of course they'll vote to stay in'.

Now, I feel perhaps such thoughts were quite foolish and that the British may soon come to greatly regret this decision, if they do not already...

People from other countries on here are always commenting on the affairs of the U.S., so what's the difference? You can be from a foreign country and actually understand the issues at hand and have a valid opinion, no matter what country is the subject.

Of course there will be some pains initially. No one is under the guise that this will be an easy separation. The country was surgically connected to the whole of Europe and decided to break away. However, it's important to note that the short term economic turmoil that is bound to occur is a much smaller price to pay than the toll that is usually required when a country declares independence.

jnimhaoileoin

Shawshank said:

jnimhaoileoin said:

It must be quite frustrating for British people here to read the comments of people from other countries (mostly America) saying how great this is for democracy etc. Not so great for those who will now have to face the consequences, starting with an inevitable recession.

I must admit that in my head I found myself kind of hoping they'd vote to leave but this was in complete ignorance of any of the facts or potential consequences. It was simply born out of a distrust of central European control and also a notion that this could be an alternative route to Scottish independence. I also felt safe in having these thoughts, thinking 'sure it doesn't matter, of course they'll vote to stay in'.

Now, I feel perhaps such thoughts were quite foolish and that the British may soon come to greatly regret this decision, if they do not already...

People from other countries on here are always commenting on the affairs of the U.S., so what's the difference? You can be from a foreign country and actually understand the issues at hand and have a valid opinion, no matter what country is the subject.

Of course there will be some pains initially. No one is under the guise that this will be an easy separation. The country was surgically connected to the whole of Europe and decided to break away. However, it's important to note that the short term economic turmoil that is bound to occur is a much smaller price to pay than the toll that is usually required when a country declares independence.

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions. I would never, ever dispute that Just commenting that some opinions may be rubbing salt into open wounds today

Also, this cannot be fairly compared to a country gaining independence. Britain has always been independant and self-governed, just as my country is.

PJ_Soul

This doesn't seem like a good idea to me at all.
I wonder if Cameron is shitting his pants today? He really fucked up.

jnimhaoileoin

PJ_Soul said:

This doesn't seem like a good idea to me at all.
I wonder if Cameron is shitting his pants today? He really fucked up.

Well he has resigned, so I imagine he's looking forward to a holiday right now and letting someone else clean up the mess....

PJ_Soul

jnimhaoileoin said:

PJ_Soul said:

This doesn't seem like a good idea to me at all.
I wonder if Cameron is shitting his pants today? He really fucked up.

Well he has resigned, so I imagine he's looking forward to a holiday right now and letting someone else clean up the mess....

Oh! I hadn't heard that news yet! Wow.

igotid88

Him resigining was predicted if the vote was to leave

jnimhaoileoin

We're looking at Boris Johnson as the next prime minister, who would have thought we might see the day?

BS44325

rgambs said:

The thing that bothers me is this is another example of the rising tide of right wing lunacy in the world. The Brexit has it's pros, cons, and unknowns, but it was pushed through on Trump-style fearmongering and scapegoating.
I have this paranoid feeling in my bones that the world is going to step into more and more foolish wars over culture.

You just don't get it. It isn't lunacy. This is people wanting to have a say in how their lives are governed. At some point you will have to wake up to the fact that the voters you disparage are in fact free minded people who can think and make decisions for themselves. This is a repudiation of elitism plain and simple. An elitism that so many of you have unwittingly become part of.

PJ_Soul

igotid88 said:

Him resigining was predicted if the vote was to leave

Honestly, this story has barely been on the radar for me until 2 days ago. I don't live under a rock, so I am pretty sure there has just been very little news coverage about it here until a day or two before the vote happened, so while i know some about the wider implications to Britain and the EU (and Canada), i know basically nothing about the internal politics surrounding the whole thing. I only learned yesterday that Cameron lead the charge to stay in fact. I can only assume that the Canadian media decided that there wasn't a big story to report until an decision was made, I don't know.

rgambs

BS44325 said:

rgambs said:

The thing that bothers me is this is another example of the rising tide of right wing lunacy in the world. The Brexit has it's pros, cons, and unknowns, but it was pushed through on Trump-style fearmongering and scapegoating.
I have this paranoid feeling in my bones that the world is going to step into more and more foolish wars over culture.

You just don't get it. It isn't lunacy. This is people wanting to have a say in how their lives are governed. At some point you will have to wake up to the fact that the voters you disparage are in fact free minded people who can think and make decisions for themselves. This is a repudiation of elitism plain and simple. An elitism that so many of you have unwittingly become part of.

Free minded people lol

Rubes that are easily preyed upon.
Mention immigration and terrorism and their free minds go blank and their jaws slack.

I guess the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe is just people being free minded then, I must be a fool for thinking they are rubes divided by fearmongering.

PJfanwillneverleave1

rgambs said:

The thing that bothers me is this is another example of the rising tide of right wing lunacy in the world. The Brexit has it's pros, cons, and unknowns, but it was pushed through on Trump-style fearmongering and scapegoating.
I have this paranoid feeling in my bones that the world is going to step into more and more foolish wars over culture.

Just relax and go play golf at Turnberry. Things will feel better.

bootlegger10

Spags said:

From Sadiq Khan:
"I want to send a clear message to every European resident living in London - you are very welcome here. As a city, we are grateful for the enormous contribution you make, and that will not change as a result of this referendum.
There are nearly one million European citizens living in London today, and they bring huge benefits to our city - working hard, paying taxes, working in our public services and contributing to our civic and cultural life.
We all have a responsibility to now seek to heal the divisions that have emerged throughout this campaign - and to focus on what unites us, rather than that which divides us".

I am not too familiar with the UK's economic and social statuses. Here in the USA the middle class is shrinking significantly and I suspect in the UK it may be the same way. When I hear that London doesn't like the Brexit I think about the wealthy people living in one of the most expensive cities in the world who get rich off the current structure being inconvenienced, and that the hardworking bus driver or police officer making the minimum are probably going to keep making the minimum because you can't pay them much lower. The French and Germans will still want UK to buy their stuff so they can't squeeze the UK too much on trade, so at the end of the day I am not sure how major this Brexit will be in the long-term, except for providing more autonomy on political/social decisions to the UK than they held previously.

At the end of the day I won't cry for any wealthy people from London who get rich at the expense of the working man, and am surprised that more on this board aren't taking the same view. But, I don't pretend to know a lot about the situation but just know that the global elite wanted them to stay and the global elite at the end of the day cause most of the world's problems and setup the financial system to be the way it is currently.

PJfanwillneverleave1

HughFreakingDillon said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

gotthebottle said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

Somebody please explain to this American....

What were the Pros?
What were the Cons?
What changes will occur?

Go read the many many descriptions on line

I have.
I was hoping to hear some opinions of some of the folks here, who actually had a vote in all this.
Just curious to as what some folks here had to say.

But yeah, I have spent the last few hours doing my homework.

every british expat I know is mortified at this vote.

Mortified?
How many british expats do you know?

lukin2006

PJ_Soul said:

igotid88 said:

Him resigining was predicted if the vote was to leave

Honestly, this story has barely been on the radar for me until 2 days ago. I don't live under a rock, so I am pretty sure there has just been very little news coverage about it here until a day or two before the vote happened, so while i know some about the wider implications to Britain and the EU (and Canada), i know basically nothing about the internal politics surrounding the whole thing. I only learned yesterday that Cameron lead the charge to stay in fact. I can only assume that the Canadian media decided that there wasn't a big story to report until an decision was made, I don't know.

I'm no expert but we already have a trade agreement with the EU, so getting a trade agreement with the U.K. should happen, but who cares if we get a free trade agreement with the U.K., not like these trade agreements have benefited the little guy ... To me democracy won the day, the world needs less politicians, less governmemrnt and less bureacrats...

PJfanwillneverleave1

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

PJ_ROCKS said:

SPEEDY MCCREADY said:

Somebody please explain to this American....

What were the Pros?
What were the Cons?
What changes will occur?

your 401k goes bye bye

And ya know....

That's about all that needs to be said, at this point.

UGHH....

Says who?
Stop spreading fear

jnimhaoileoin

PJ_Soul said:

igotid88 said:

Him resigining was predicted if the vote was to leave

Honestly, this story has barely been on the radar for me until 2 days ago. I don't live under a rock, so I am pretty sure there has just been very little news coverage about it here until a day or two before the vote happened, so while i know some about the wider implications to Britain and the EU (and Canada), i know basically nothing about the internal politics surrounding the whole thing. I only learned yesterday that Cameron lead the charge to stay in fact. I can only assume that the Canadian media decided that there wasn't a big story to report until an decision was made, I don't know.

To be equally honest, I didn't even bother reading about it because we all assumed they'd vote to stay! I'd say that's why people in other countries weren't paying all that much attention to it. Well we bloody are now of course....

Spags

It wasn't just Londoners representing Remain. Cities of Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, Bristol, Norwich, Brighton and Exeter (sorry to any I've missed) also represented Remain - and obviously Northern Ireland and Scotland. You could argue, as you and many others are, that these cities are full of the rich elite who make their money at the expense of the working class. But you could also argue that cities are far more cosmopolitan and less isolated, allowing the people there to be less influenced by the agenda pushed by Brexit. Regardless, making the country poorer and putting it in the hands of Boris (as well as potentially giving UKIP a much bigger seat at the political table from here on - not to mention fanning the flames of the Right Wing across Europe) isn't going to help the working class, not to mention the people living in the UK that aren't British.
I'm all for saying 'Yay Democracy' and 'Eat The Rich' but its not as simple as that right now while we are all still in shock (even a lot of the Brexit camp from the interviews I've seen).

jnimhaoileoin

BS44325 said:

rgambs said:

The thing that bothers me is this is another example of the rising tide of right wing lunacy in the world. The Brexit has it's pros, cons, and unknowns, but it was pushed through on Trump-style fearmongering and scapegoating.
I have this paranoid feeling in my bones that the world is going to step into more and more foolish wars over culture.

You just don't get it. It isn't lunacy. This is people wanting to have a say in how their lives are governed. At some point you will have to wake up to the fact that the voters you disparage are in fact free minded people who can think and make decisions for themselves. This is a repudiation of elitism plain and simple. An elitism that so many of you have unwittingly become part of.

Yes this is the democratic result of a democratic vote. That's not to say it wasn't an ill-advised or even ill-informed vote though. The campaign was rife with misinformation. Not to mention the fact that the British already had a say in how they're governed. I'm not sure how much power you think the EU has but I'm guessing it's a lot more than it actually has....

PJfanwillneverleave1

Here is a tidy article. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brexit-world-reactions-1.3650612
We have the will of the British people on the table," Weber told reporters, saying it now had to be implemented "and the most important thing is that we do this very quickly."

jnimhaoileoin

I'm actually confused by my own reaction now, as I had idly thought it might be interesting if they left, with the added bonus of giving a boost to the campaign for Scottish independence. However, the fact that the right wing thinks it's great and the generally accepted opinion on the left is that it's terrible, really tells me all I need to know. My idle thoughts had seemed irrelevant while under the assumption that they'd never vote to leave. Now we have to face the reality that they did and the uncertain future is quite worrying....